The lingering dream faintly reveals its true form.
The moonlight, like water, flowed silently through the ravaged valley. Lin Shimei's body lay in a pool of blood, her eyes wide open, as if still gripped by the fear of her dying moments. The poisoned dagger remained embedded in her chest, its dark blue blade gleaming ominously in the moonlight.
Mo Xiaoyu stood there, her body shivering. She watched Xie Yunzhi slowly stand up, the Su Mengyu jade glowing warmly on his chest, creating an eerie contrast with the horrific scene before her.
"Are you... alright?" she asked softly, her voice trembling involuntarily.
Xie Yunzhi did not answer immediately. He looked down at his hands, his eyes filled with a complex and unreadable expression. The fragments of memories that had surged in just moments before were still churning in his mind, making it difficult for him to distinguish between reality and illusion.
"Those images..." he finally spoke, his voice hoarse, "Did you see them?"
Mo Xiaoyu nodded gently. The flood, the crumbling palace, and that moment when they embraced tightly in the midst of danger—every scene was so real, so real that it made her heart ache.
"Was that... a past life?" she couldn't help but ask.
Xie Yunzhi's gaze finally focused on her face. In the moonlight, her slender figure seemed as if it might disappear at any moment, only her eyes gradually overlapped with a blurry shadow in his memory.
"Perhaps," he said softly, then suddenly coughed violently, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his lips.
"Your injury!" Mo Xiaoyu rushed forward to support him.
The moment their fingers touched, they both jolted. An indescribable sense of familiarity flowed through their fingertips, as if they had repeated this action countless times.
"It's alright." Xie Yunzhi steadied his breathing and gently pushed her hand away. "The power of the Soul-Locking Talisman was mostly blocked by the Dream-Tracing Jade; only his sea of consciousness suffered some turbulence."
His movements were light, yet deliberately distant. Mo Xiaoyu's hand froze in mid-air, a bitter feeling welling up in her heart.
Just then, a commotion arose in the distance. Clearly, the fight had alerted the night patrol disciples.
"You'd better leave quickly." Xie Yunzhi's expression hardened. "If someone finds you here..."
"But Junior Sister Lin, she..."
"I'll handle it," he interrupted her, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Remember, you haven't left the servants' quarters all night."
Mo Xiaoyu wanted to say something, but seeing his resolute gaze, she could only swallow her words. She took one last look at Lin Shimei's body, then turned and disappeared into the shadows of the woods.
When she returned to the servants' quarters, the sky was already beginning to lighten. Mo Xiaoyu lay on the bed fully clothed, her eyes wide open until dawn. Scenes from the previous night kept replaying in her mind: Su Qingqing's crazed eyes, Lin Shimei's fallen figure, and Xie Yunzhi's complex and unfathomable eyes when he pushed her away.
As the morning bell rang, she rose with the other servants, as if everything from the previous night had been nothing but a nightmare. Yet the lingering sensation on her fingertips and the chill that wouldn't go away reminded her of the cruel reality.
*---
In the following days, undercurrents surged within the Qingyun Sect.
Lin Shimei's death was classified as "cultivation gone awry, resulting in her unfortunate demise." The sect held a simple funeral for her, and the disciples discussed it among themselves, but no one dared to delve into the truth.
Mo Xiaoyu noticed that Xie Yunzhi had started going to the Scripture Pavilion more frequently. Sometimes she would see him from afar, always alone, walking hurriedly. Su Qingqing also seemed to have restrained herself a lot, no longer appearing by his side as often as before, but occasionally when their eyes met, Mo Xiaoyu could always see a deeply hidden hatred in her eyes.
That evening, Mo Xiaoyu was assigned to clean the stone steps outside the Sutra Repository. She lowered her head, carefully wiping each step, when suddenly, a shadow fell over her.
Looking up, she met Xie Yunzhi's deep eyes.
"Come with me," he whispered, turning to walk toward the path behind the pavilion.
Mo Xiaoyu hesitated for a moment, put down the rag in her hand, and followed.
Behind the Sutra Repository was a deserted pavilion, surrounded by ancient trees, a very secluded spot. Xie Yunzhi stopped in the pavilion and turned to look at her.
"This," he said, handing over a yellowed old book, "might answer some of your questions."
Mo Xiaoyu took the book, and saw the ancient characters "The Secret Records of Qingyun" on the cover. She turned the pages, and a passage immediately came into view:
"In the 432nd year of the Eternal Night Calendar, the Milky Way was reversed, and a devastating flood raged. Xie's ancestor, Yunxi, wielding the Dream-Tracing Jade, bravely turned the tide, ultimately suppressing the flood at the abyss of the Western Mountains. However, in this battle, Yunxi perished from exhaustion, and his Daoist partner, Mo, sacrificed himself to protect the Divine Jade..."
Her fingers trembled slightly as she continued reading:
"The Su family was originally a family dedicated to protecting the divine jade, but their patriarch, Su Yan, coveted its power and attempted to seize it by force. Ultimately, he suffered a backlash, his soul scattered. From then on, the Su family and the Xie family became sworn enemies..."
"So..." Mo Xiaoyu raised her head, her voice choked with emotion, "Su Qingqing approached you not only for the Su Meng Jade, but also for revenge?"
Xie Yunzhi nodded slightly, his gaze fixed on the distant mountains: "A three-hundred-year-old feud is not so easily resolved."
"So what should we do now?" she couldn't help but ask. "Su Qingqing is in the shadows, and we're in the light..."
"Us?" Xie Yunzhi suddenly turned to look at her, his eyes sharp. "Why did you get involved in this conflict?"
Mo Xiaoyu was stunned. Yes, why did she have to get involved in this grudge that seemed to have nothing to do with her? But a voice in her heart told her that all of this was closely related to her.
"Because..." she took a deep breath, "the scenes in those hallucinations made me feel like I was part of them."
Xie Yunzhi remained silent for a long time, then suddenly said softly, "Do you know what I saw when the Soul-Locking Talisman struck me that day?"
She shook her head.
"I saw you." His voice was soft, as if afraid of disturbing something. "In the collapsing palace, you shielded me from a fatal blow... just like in a past life."
Mo Xiaoyu's breath hitched.
"Therefore," he stepped forward, his gaze intense, "regardless of what happened in our past lives, in this life, I cannot let you risk your life for me again."
At this moment, his eyes no longer held the aloofness and confusion of the past, but only a clear and resolute determination. Looking into his eyes, Mo Xiaoyu suddenly understood that those forgotten memories of her past life were gradually awakening.
"But......"
Before she could say anything more, a voice called out from afar, "Senior Brother Xie! The Sect Master requests your presence at the Lingxiao Hall for a meeting!"
Xie Yunzhi frowned and gave her a deep look: "Remember my words, stay away from these troubles."
Watching his departing figure, Mo Xiaoyu gripped the ancient book tightly in her hands. The afterglow of the setting sun shone on the pages, staining the ancient characters a blood-red hue.
She knew she couldn't extricate herself anymore. Whether in a past life or this one, some destinies, once begun, can never be easily severed.
As night deepened, she sat alone on the stone steps behind the servants' quarters, gazing at the bright moon in the sky. Suddenly, a dark shadow swept across the wall, so fast it seemed as if it were just her imagination.
But the extra jade slip on the ground proves that someone had indeed been here.
She picked up the jade slip, and the moment she probed it with her divine sense, a cold voice rang in her mind:
"If you wish to know the truth, come to the forbidden area behind the mountain at midnight tonight."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
